“Supply of adequate clean drinking water, as also provision of sanitation and sewage disposal, will be an important programme of a future NDA Government.”
-Advaniji at a round table on Drinking Water on January 27, 2009
Shri L K Advani is currently the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and the Prime Ministerial Candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the 2009 General Elections.
Through the years Advaniji had served as the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party for the longest period since its inception in 1980. Capping a parliamentary career of nearly three decades, Advaniji was, first, the Home Minister and, later, the Deputy Prime Minister in the cabinet of Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1999-2004).
Advaniji is widely regarded as an individual of great intellectual ability, strong principles, and unwavering support for the idea of a strong and prosperous India. As confirmed by Atalji, Advaniji has 'never compromised on his core belief in nationalism, and yet has displayed flexibility in political responses whenever it was demanded by the situation'.
Advaniji was born on 8 Nov 1927 and grew up in pre-partitioned Sindh. As a student in St. Patrick's School, Karachi, his patriotic ideals inspired him to join the Rashtriya Swayamasevak Sangh (RSS) at the mere age of fourteen. He has dedicated his life to the service of the nation ever since.
Advaniji’s celebration of India's independence from the British in 1947 was sadly short lived as he became one of the millions to be torn from his homeland amidst the terror and bloodshed of the tragedy of India's partition. These events, however, did not turn him bitter or cynical but instead spurred him on in his desire to create a more secular India. With this goal in mind he journeyed to Rajasthan to continue his work as an RSS Pracharak.
Through the latter half of the 1980s and the 1990s, Advaniji focused on the singular task of building the BJP into a national political force. The results of his efforts were underscored by the 1989 General Election. The Party bounced back from its 1984 tally of 2 to achieve an impressive 86 seats. The Party position moved up to 121 seats in 1992 and 161 in 1996; making the 1996 elections a watershed in Indian democracy. For the first time since independence, the Congress was dethroned from its preeminent position, and the BJP became the single largest party in the Lok Sabha.
An emotional individual with strong family ties, Advaniji has said that 'nature dangles happiness and meaning before us all, insisting only that we choose between them, but I have had the good fortune of experiencing both, and in abundance'.
Today, Advaniji asks the people of India to make the right choice, in choosing a leader who has lived through the mistakes of India's past, and looks forward to ensuring that India becomes more united, stronger and stands taller with its Tomorrow brighter than its Today.
About Advaniji : A Timeline
* November 8, 1927 - Shri L.K Advani was born in Karachi, in present day Pakistan, to parents Kishenchand and Gyanidevi Advani.
* 1936-1942 - Studied at St.Patricks school, Karachi, standing first in every class until matriculation.
* 1942 - Joined the RSS as a Swayamsevak.
* 1942 - Joined Dayaram Gidumal National College, Hyderabad, during the Quit India movement.
* 1944 - Held a job as a teacher in Model High School, Karachi.
* 12 September, 1947 - Left from Sindh to Delhi by propeller aircraft during Paritition.
* 1947-1951 - Organised RSS work in Alwar, Bharatpur, Kota, Bundi and Jhalawar as RSS Secretary in the Karachi branch.
* Early 1957- Shifted to Delhi to assist Shri.Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
* 1958-63 - Held the position of Secretary of the Delhi State Jana Sangh.
* 1960-1967 - Joined the Organiser , a political journal of the Jana Sangh as assistant editor.
* Feb 25, 1965 - Married Smt. Kamla Advani, with whom he has two children, Pratibha and Jayant.
* April 1970 - Entered the Rajya Sabha.
* Dec 1972 - Was elected President of Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
* 26 June 1975 - Was Arrested in Bangalore during Emergency period and taken to Banaglore Central Jail along with other BJS members.
* March 1977 to July 1979 - Held the position of Union minister for Information and Broadcasting .May 1986- Became Party President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
* 1980-86 - Held the position of General Secretary of the BJP.
* May 1986 - Was announced as party President of the BJP.
* 3 March 1988 - Was re-elected party president of the BJP.
* 1988 - Held the position of Home minister in the BJP Government.
* 1990 - Began the Ram Rath Yatha from Somnath to Ayodhya.
* 1997 - Began the Swarna Jayanti Rath Yathra to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of India’s Independence.
* Oct 13 1999 - May 13 2004- Held the position of Deputy Prime minister.
* Shri.L.K.Advani is currently the Leader of the opposition and the Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2009 General elections.
Speech by Shri L.K. Advani at the Global Summit of the Jain International Trade Organization
I thank the organizers of this Global Summit of the Jain International Trade Organization (JITO) for inviting me to the inaugural ceremony. At the outset, I convey my best wishes to you for a Happy New Year and also my greetings for Makar Sankranti, which is just four days away.
I have participated in many conferences of business platforms such as FICCI, CII and ASSOCHAM. These organizations are focused almost entirely on business and economy. But your conference is different. This is because the Jain International Trade Organization does not concern itself only with trade matters. Its outlook and activities are far more holistic, embracing many other aspects of life and society.
JITO’s philosophy is encapsulated by five noble commitments: Seva (Service of Humanity), Shiksha (Education), Arthik Sudharata (Economic Uplift), Samajik Utkarsh (Social Progress) and Adhyatmik Unnati (Spiritual Elevation). I compliment your organization because it is actively promoting programmes in each of these areas.
Jainism’s holistic approach to life
This holistic approach to life is not surprising because Jainism itself presents a profound and all-encompassing outlook towards life. Its ideals like satya, ahimsa, and aparigraha are both universal and eternal in their relevance. And in every century, Jainism has produced saintly figures who have both embodied these ideals. In our own times, I can think of two venerable personalities – Acharya Tulsi and his worthy disciple Acharya Mahapragya. I consider it my good fortune that I have sat at the feet of both these great Acharyas.
One of the great qualities that I have observed among Jain organizations is how they have tried to follow the teachings of the Tirthankars to practice philanthropy by enhancement of business. The spirit of volunteerism and social service that they display is truly remarkable. I remember that, at the time of the massive earthquake in Kutch and other parts of Gujarat in 2001, some of the best relief and humanitarian work was done by Jain organizations. I commend JITO for supporting this praiseworthy tradition.
Jainism the most ancient Green Movement in world history
Friends, in popular consciousness, Jainism is associated with its insistence on ahimsa or non-violence. Indeed, the greatest apostle of nonviolence in the modern era, Mahatma Gandhi, has written in his autobiography that he had a Jain 'spiritual mentor', a young diamond merchant named Shrimad Rajchandra.
We often do not appreciate why Jainism attached such paramount importance to ahimsa. However, we should remember that two of the greatest challenges before the world today Terrorism and Climate Change are both manifestations of violence.
Terrorism is of course the most extreme and inhuman form of violence. And we have seen its evil face in Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Delhi, Bangalore, Guwahati and, most recently, in Mumbai. Violence of this kind must be put down with a firm hand.
But there is another form of violence which the world has been much slower to recognize, and much more hesitant to take firm action against. I am referring to the violence being inflicted on Mother Earth by our materialistic civilization. The destruction of the environment, which is evident in the alarming levels of pollution of our land, water and air resources and which is now climaxing in Climate Change, has catastrophic implications for man and other species on our planet.
It is when we reflect on the challenge of Climate Change that we begin to appreciate the enormous contemporary relevance of the Jain philosophy of ahimsa and jiva daya. We realize that Bhagwan Mahavir and the other Jain Tirthankars were great environmental conservationists. They taught us that we human beings are merely trustees of this planet. We need to re-learn their teachings in our times. If we do so, we realize that eco-friendliness is not a mere fashionable phrase, it has to be interwoven into our development paradigm and also into our day-to-day living. In a sense, we all have to become adivasis or tribals who know how to exist in harmony with the earth. The earth takes care of us, and so we have to take care of her. In this sense, Jainism is the most ancient Green Movement in world history.
I would like to assure the audience here, and the people at large in our country, that, in the event of the BJP and the NDA elected to form the next government in New Delhi, we shall take appropriate steps to deal with both forms of violence – Terrorism and Climate Change.
Vibrant Gujarat: A role model for other states
Friends, your conference is taking place at a time when Gujarat is once again hosting another prestigious meet: The Vibrant Gujarat summit. This annual event has now become an advertisement, both nationally and internationally, for the highly impressive achievements of the Government of Gujarat, under the leadership of its dynamic Chief Minster Shri Narendra Modi.
Even our political and ideological opponents have to grudgingly recognize that Gujarat has now become the No. 1 destination for investments. Recently, a Member of Parliament from Kerala belonging to the CPI(M) publicly lauded Shri Modi and said that the Communist-led Government in Kerala should emulate the example of Gujarat.
Gujarat today is a role model for Good Governance, for Development and an uncompromising approach to Security. It has also set an example for an uncompromising approach to Corruption. Let me assure you that a future NDA Government in New Delhi will replicate this model nationally.
We shall take bold and quick steps to revive the economy out of the recessionary crisis that it is in today. Our policies will help create more employment, self-employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for young Indians. In this, we would actively seek the cooperation of organizations like JITO.
Govt must take firm action against cases of financial fraud
Friends, since most of you are from the fields of business and commerce, I have to share an important thought on this occasion. India has all the potential to grow into a giant economy. The successes of Indian entrepreneurs in recent times, both in India and abroad, have been spectacular.
But as Gandhiji used to exhort, business without ethics is sin. Even if a few business organizations indulge in unethical practices, they bring a bad name to the business community as a whole. I am saying this I am distressed by the recent shocking disclosures about financial fraud in a major IT company in Hyderabad. Corporate India must put its house in order. The Government cannot turn a blind or lenient eye to such fraudulent practices.
With these words, I declare the inauguration of the Global Summit of the Jain International Trade Organization and wish it all success.
Thank you.
Speech by Shri L.K. Advani at the FICCI Audiotrium to commemorate the 112th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose
FICCI Audiotrium, New Delhi
“Netaji Bose had said to his countrymen: 'Tum mujhe khoon do; main tumhe aazadi doonga! (Give me blood, and I promise you freedom!) The times have changed, India has been azaad since 1947, and we need to make different kinds of sacrifices and commitments. Hence, if I were to rephrase Netaji’s clarion call, I would say that the call of all nationalistic and forward-looking political leaders to the people of India today should be: 'Tum humein samarthan do; hum tumhe sushaasan denge! (Give us your support, we promise you Good Governance.) This is what my colleagues and I would humbly say when my party, the BJP, and my alliance, the NDA, go out to seek people’s support in the forthcoming elections to the 15th Lok Sabha.”
Today is the jayanti of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Had he lived till today, he would be 112 years old. However, rare are human beings who live that long. But rare also are human beings who perform so many heroic feats in as short a lifespan as Destiny gave to Netaji Bose.
We do not still know conclusively and beyond the shadow of any doubt when, where and how Netaji Bose died. Officially ― and here I am referring to the official version of the British government ―, he died in a plane crash over Taiwan, while flying to Tokyo on 18 August 1945. Which means that, he was only 48 years old when he died. However, his body was never recovered.
Several committees were set up by the Government of India to probe into this matter. Indeed, when I was the Union Home Minister in the NDA Government (1998-2004), we set up an Inquiry Commission in 1999 under Justice Mukherjee. Its report, which was tabled in Parliament in May 2006, said that Netaji Bose did not die in the plane crash and the ashes at the Renkoji Temple in Tokyo are not his. However, the UPA Government rejected the findings of the Commission.
Netaji Bose: a unique patriotic warrior
There is no need to go into that debate now. What is beyond doubt is that Netaji lived life heroically, and he died heroically, fighting for the cause of India’s liberation from foreign rule. In many ways, he was unique among India’s freedom fighters. Bose advocated complete freedom for India at the earliest, whereas the Congress wanted it in phases, through a Dominion status. Once World War II broke out, which convinced him that the path of non-violent resistance chosen by the party under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi was not the right one, he followed Rabindranath Tagore’s poetic line ‘Ekla Chalo Re’.
He escaped from British captivity, travelled to Afghanistan, the Soviet Union, Germany and Japan, seeking alliances tha could defeat the British in India. With an audacity that only brave hearts are capable of, he formed the Azad Hind Government in exile. The Indian National Army (INA), which he led, forms an incredible chapter in the history of the revolutionary branch of India’s freedom struggle.
Netaji was a devout Hindu. He was greatly influenced by the philosophy of Swami Vivekananda and Maharshi Aurobindo. Indeed, it is his rootedness in India’s spiritual heritage and his belief in the teachings of the Bhagwad Gita that imparted to him the values of discipline, valour and the spirit of sacrifice. Not many know that he published a special edition of Veer Savarkar’s monumental book 1857 : India’s War of Independence as reading material for the soldiers of INA.
Friends, it is important for us to remember that men and women following several ideologies and several strategies participated in India’s liberation movement. And they often coexisted in the Congress itself, at a time when the Congress was a broad national platform and not a political party as such. Even Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, founder of the Rashriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), was earlier a functionary of the Congress in Vidarbha. Although Mahatma Gandhi dominated the national movement, there were many, like Netaji Bose, who followed divergent paths.
And then there were men like Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Veer Savarkar who fought for India’s independence while remaining outside the Congress platform.
Why did Netaji Bose become a ‘Fogotten Hero’?
As I have often stated in the past, we should honour all these great men and women, irrespective of their divergent and sometimes conflicting ideological and operational stands. For in spite of differences, one thing was common to them all: their boundless patriotism and their total dedication to the cause of India’s freedom.
And this was my message when I undertook the longest yatra of my life, the Swarna Jayanti Rath Yatra in 1997 to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of India’s Independence. I travelled all over the country by road and paid homage to hundreds of well-known and lesser-known martyrs and heroes of the Freedom Movement. For me, it was a Patriotic Pilgrimage.
What pains me ― and it also pains and angers millions of fellow Indians ― is that after Independence, an impression has been created that those who belong to a particular family have made the greatest contribution to India’s liberation and post-1947 nation-building. For example, a feature film on Netaji Bose was released in 2005. It was directed by the renowned director Shyam Benegal. What was its title?
Bose: The Forgotten Hero. We must ask ourselves: “Why did someone like Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose become a forgotten hero in our country?”
* * *
Netaji fought for Swaraj. We should strive for Su-raj
When we remember heroic personalities from the past, it should never be for ritualistic purposes. Great men and women are those who outlive their own lives. Long after they depart from our land, their ideas and deeds continue to live, inspiring and guiding others.
How does Netaji Bose guide us today? How do others from his generation guide us today?
I can summarise this by saying what I said during my Swarna Jayanti Rath Yatra. Our Freedom Fighters gave us Swaraj. But we have not been able to convert it into Su-raj. Self-Governance has not been transformed into Good Governance.
The people who lived in the era of the freedom struggle had hoped and dreamed that India, once it became independent, would be a land of prosperity, free of poverty, illiteracy, backwardness and want. This dream has not come true even after six decades of Independence.
*
India ranks 128 out of 177 countries in the world in terms of the United Nations’ Human Development Index. Why?
*
India has the highest number of malnutrition-related deaths. Why?
*
Only 45% of our children complete eight years of schooling? Why?
*
Why are thousands of farmers committing suicide in this day and age?
*
Why are we witnessing the largest ever migration from rural to urban areas?
*
Why is India suffering from such severe infrastructure bottlenecks that something as basic as electricity and drinking water are in short supply in many parts of the country?
The short answer to all these and more such questions is that there is lack of Good Governance India.
Congress party’s legacy of knotty problems
Lack of Good Governance has a direct bearing on threats to our national security. For example, people like Netaji Bose would be horrified at the manner in which the Congress rule has bequeathed knotty problems to future generations ― problems like the border disputes with Pakistan and China that have become knottier with the passage of time. He would be equally horrified at how the Congress has colluded, purely for votebank considerations, in the demographic invasion from Bangladesh into Assam and other parts of the country.
The same votebank considerations have guided the Congress party’s approach to cross-border terrorism, sponsored from Pakistan. Its opposition to POTA in 2002, its scrapping of POTA in 2004 and its refusal to implement the Supreme Court’s judgement on Afzal Guru, who has been convicted for his role in the terrorist attack on Indian Parliament – all these are such that they show the warped thinking of the Congress leadership on the issue of terrorism.
In the aftermath of the recent horrendous terror attacks in Mumbai, the UPA Government was forced to take some partial corrective measures, such as enactment of two anti-terror bills. But I must make two points here. Firstly, the it government acted out of compulsion and not conviction. Secondly, facts about the 26/11 incidents have revealed that there was not only an intelligence failure but also a monumental failure of governance by the Congress-led governments in New Delhi and Mumbai. The Congress has a lot to answer for this failure.
What I am saying is simply this: As a party that has ruled India for the longest period since Independence, the Congress must bear the greatest responsibility for the problems that are plaguing our country today. I have seen all the Congress governments from 1947 onwards. I can say on the basis of this knowledge that this is the worst of all the Congress regimes ― the most corrupt, the most inept and most unfaithful to the dreams of the great heroes of our Freedom Struggle.
Satyam mega-scam: Judicial probe needed
Let me take the latest example of the humungous corporate scandal in Satyam. Small investors have been badly hurt by this fraud, which involves a figure of Rs. 7,000 crore. It has also hurt the image of India’s corporate sector globally. Reports now reveal that the company’s balance sheet was fudged. Revenues were inflated. Even the number of employees was inflated. What were the relevant agencies in the governments in New Delhi and Hyderabad doing?
There are also reports that the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh showered a largesse on the promoters of Satyam in the form of giving away lucrative contracts and large tracts of precious land for throwaway prices. There is a stench of political corrupton here, and I demand a high-level judicial probe into this mega-scam.
BJP/NDA’s promise: Good Governance
I shall conclude with one thought. Netaji Bose had said to his countrymen: 'Tum mujhe khoon do; main tumhe aazadi doonga! (Give me blood, and I promise you freedom!) The times have changed, India has been azaad since 1947, and we need to make different kinds of sacrifices and commitments. Hence, if I were to rephrase Netaji’s clarion call, I would say that the call of all nationalistic and forward-looking political leaders to the people of India today should be: 'Tum humein samarthan do; hum tumhe sushaasan denge! (Give us your support, we promise you Good Governance.)
This is what my colleagues and I would humbly say when my party, the BJP, and my alliance, the NDA, go out to seek people’s support in the forthcoming elections to the 15th Lok Sabha.
We shall remind the people that India has ample resources, both natural and human, for making great strides forward. Indeed, wherever and whenever governments have governed well, they have produced good results. For example, the states in which the BJP has governments are far better governed than the Congress-ruled states. Similarly, now that the term of the UPA Government has almost come to an end, I can also claim that the track record of the NDA Government under Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee was far superior to that of the incumbent government under Smt. Sonia Gandhi and Dr. Manmohan Singh.
We shall attend to India’s developmental challenges with a sense of urgency, bringing many innovative ideas to bear on our efforts. We shall be uncompromising in our fight against terrorism. We shall not tolerate corruption in governance, especially at the top echolons. I am saying this because if there is probility in public life at the top, it will have a positive influence down the line. With Good Governance, Development and Security as our mantras, we shall serve India in a manner that would befittingly honour the ideals of great patriot-warriors like Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
Thank you.
Speech by Shri L.K. Advani at a "Vijay Sankalp Rally" in Calicut (Kerala)
This is the second day of my visit to Kerala, and it has brought me to Calicut or Kozhikode, the most important coastal city of Malabar.
Whenever I come to your state — and I have been coming here frequently since my first memorable visit to this city in 1967 — I have been enchanted by its unique beauty. I am also fascinated by the weighty contribution that the great men and women from Kerala have made to enriching India’s spiritual heritage, cultural traditions, intellectual treasure, social reform agenda and nationalist legacy.
From Adi Shankar to Narayana Guru to Mata Amritananandamayi of our own times — the tradition of enlightenment from Kerala has remained unbroken.
One can also recall the names of numerous distinguished personalities from Kerala who have made immense contribution to nation-building.
I am told that P.T. Usha, India’s Sprint Queen, is from Calicut
Today I would like to mention, and pay tribute to, one very special Keralite. A person who will soon make India proud with a unique achievement. He is Shri G Madhavan Nair, Chairman of ISRO. On 22nd of this month, ISRO under his leadership will take India to the Moon. On that day, ISRO will launch Chandrayaan, India’s first lunar spaceship.
The decision to begin the Chandrayaan project was taken by the Vajpayee Government. I am happy that it has progressed so well so fast.
Let us congratulate Shri Madhavan Nair and all the other scientists at ISRO. Let us all today wish success to this ambitious project, which will make every Indian proud.
Let us also look forward to the day when ISRO will launch a manned mission to the Moon.
Remembering Deendayal Upadhyaya
Friends, Calicut has a special place in my life and in the life of my party, which before 1977 was known as the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. It was here that the Bharatiya Jana Sangh held its national convention in December 1967. And it was at this convention that the party elected Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya as its President. Deendayalji was the most important leader of our party after the untimely martyrdom of Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee in 1953, in the course of his struggle for the complete integration of Jammu & Kashmir into the Indian Union.
Deendayalji was an ideal political leader, a great nationalist thinker, a skilful and idealistic party organiser and a source of immense moral inspiration to tens of thousands of young political activists. As far as I am concerned, his was the greatest influence on my political life.
Deendayalji’s speech at the Calicut session of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh is one of the best political speeches in the history of independent India. Its contemporary relevance for us today lies in the guidance it gave to our party on the question of alliance politics.
Unfortunately, Deendayalji graced the office of President of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh only for a few months. On 11 February 1968, he was found dead on the railway tracks near Mughalsarai.
Thus, for all of us in the Jana Sangh and the BJP who revere Deendayalji, Calicut has a very special significance.
BJP: stronger and better than the Congress
When I look back at my party’s journey since those days, I am myself amazed by how far we have progressed. Ours was a marginal party in Indian politics those days. Today we are one of the two principal poles in the essentially bipolar polity of India. Indeed, today the BJP has more MLAs in the country than the Congress. The BJP — either on its own or with its allies — runs more State Governments than the Congress. BJP-run State Governments are better-governed and have a stronger focus on development than the Congress-run Governments.
The most striking and recent example of this is the relocation of Tata’s Nano car plant from Singur in West Bengal to Sanand in Gujarat. The CPI(M) Government in West Bengal could not resolve the issue of land allotment for more than a year, forcing the Tatas to move the project out of the state. In contrast, Shri Narendra Modi’s Government in Gujarat cleared land allotment and all other formalities within a matter of days.
This is the difference between the CPI(M) and the BJP. Communist rule, be it in West Bengal or in Kerala, is a synonym for stagnation and unemployment. BJP rule is a byword for development and employment generation.
I was talking of the progress that the BJP has made, and how it has changed the political map of India, in the past few decades. Only a few months ago, the BJP was able to win the mandate of the people in Karnataka to form a Government on its own.
Kerala’s two Fronts are an affront to Good Governance and Clean Politics
I am mentioning this in Calicut just to drive home the point that today the BJP may be having a marginal presence in the politics of Kerala, with no representation either in the Lok Sabha or the Vidhan Sabha, but the day is not far when our party will become a force to reckon with in this state.
For far too long, politics and governance in Kerala have remained the monopoly of the Communist-led LDF and Congress-led UDF. There is no real difference between the two Fronts. Both are an affront to Good Governance and Clean Politics.
Kerala has suffered equally under their misrule. Where is economic growth in Kerala? Where are productive investments in Kerala? Where are employment and self-employment avenues being created in Kerala? Where are opportunities for the highly talented young men and women of Kerala to create a bright future for themselves in their own state.
A very large number of Keralites have been forced to go out of Kerala — either to other states in India itself or to Gulf countries and other places abroad — in search of suitable sources of livelihood. And wherever Keralites have gone, they have earned name and fame for themselves because of their hard work, skills, knowledge and professional expertise.
Only last week, I participated in the silver jubilee celebrations of the Nair Service Society Delhi, which had also organised a Global Nair Sammelanam on the occasion.
Be it Nairs, Ezavas, Syrian Christians, Muslims or any other community in Kerala, all have earned a good reputation for themselves and for their state wherever they have gone.
There is nothing wrong in Indians from one state going to another state for employment or entrepreneurship. It is the fundamental right of every Indian.
Every once in a while, linguistic chauvinism or narrow provinicialism raises its head and says, “No, this city or this state belongs only to us and outsiders are not allowed here.” The BJP firmly opposes such divisive tendencies.
But the BJP is also opposed to those political parties who, due to their misrule and their total apathy to development, create economic stagnation in the states they govern and thereby force people to migrate to other places in search of employment and livelihood.
This has been happening both in Kerala and West Bengal, where the CPI(M) has dominated the political scene for a long time. In West Bengal, it has had a Government continuously since 1977. In Kerala, the CPI(M) and the Congress have a sort of “power-sharing” arrangement, whereby the LDF and the UDF keep on passing the baton to each other.
But both in Kerala and West Bengal, young people see no hope for their future.
For example, Calicut has an average literacy rate of 93%, much higher than the national average of 61%. Male literacy is 96%, and female literacy is 89%. I congratulate the people of Calicut, and the people of Kerala in general, for their excellent achievement in literacy – and in several other areas of social sector development. But the moot question is: How many educated young men and women from Calicut find appropriate career opportunities in your own district, in your own state?
Strengthen BJP in Kerala
This must change. And for the change to come about, Kerala needs an Alternative Model of Development. For Kerala to have an Alternative Model of Development, it must embrace an Alternative Model of Politics and Governance.
In other words, Kerala needs a positive and superior alternative to both CPI(M) and Congress.
The BJP is committed to providing such an alternative, in cooperation with other progressive forces.
Ours may be a small party in Kerala today. But I have no doubt that the BJP will make a rapid breakthrough in the politics of Kerala, just as it did in Karnataka where it had only a marginal presence a couple of decades ago.
Friends, the time to create an alternative to the LDF and UDF will come at the time of the next Assembly elections. Right now, we have to think of an alternative to the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre, which is quite simply the worst government New Delhi has seen.
Why Vijay Sankalp Rally
And this is the reason why I have come today to Calicut as part of my nationwide programme of Vijay Sankalp Rallies ahead of the forthcoming parliamentary elections. Yesterday, I was in Kasargod. Only four days ago, I was in Arunachal Pradesh. Earlier I was in Uttar Pradesh.
Thus, I have been going around the country.
My message to the people in all my rallies is the same: You have a right to ask the Congress and the UPA to show their report card. What does the report card show? A tale of failures and betrayals.
* The UPA Government has also failed miserably to check the skyrocketing prices of all essential goods and services. Every trip to the market has become a tormenting experience for the aam aadmi.
The UPA Government has failed to manage the economy well, as a result of which India today is in the grip of both high inflation and high recession. Middle-class families are paying more than double the amount as interest payment on the loans they had taken during the NDA rule for housing. As a result of slowdown in the economy, there will be fewer employment opportunities at a time when unemployment is already a big problem.
I would like the Prime Minister to come clean on how much the global financial crisis is going to affect the Indian economy. There is a lot of concern and confusion on this score. And there is a feeling that the Government is less than transparent.
* The UPA Government has failed to address the problems of farmers, including the farmers in Kerala, the growers of various cash crops.
* The UPA Government’s failure to fight terrorism has been most glaring. It is not merely failure on account of incompetence, but also failure on account of unwillingness to take firm steps. The Government lacks the will to fight terrorism because of the fear of losing its minority vote bank.
The BJP does not associate terrorism with any religion or community. But it is the Congress which believes that strong measures to counter terror will alienate a certain community.
* Does enforcement of the Supreme Court’s verdict on Afzal Guru, the main accused in the terrorist attack on Indian Parliament, constitute targeting a community?
* Does enactment of a strong anti-terror law such as POTA constitute targeting a community?
* Does stern action against organizations such as SIMI and Indian Mujahideen constitute targeting a community?
* Does effective action to stop infiltration of Bangladeshis into Assam and other parts of India constitute targeting a community?
Therefore, people should decide for themselves: Who is communalizing the fight against terrorism – BJP or the Congress?
All in all, the UPA Government has become a curse. For India to survive, the Congress-led Government must be voted out.
India needs a strong and honest government with a strong and honest leadership to meet the serious challenges it is facing.
India needs, once again, a BJP-led NDA Government.
I would like to appeal to the people of Calicut, to all the people of Kerala, to make a substantive contribution to bringing about this much-needed change at the Centre.
For this, I extend invitation to all those parties and organizations who are fed up with the stultifying domination of the CPI(M) and Congress in Kerala. Come, let us together impart a positive new turn to the politics in Kerala.
This is the message of the Vijay Sankalp Rally.
Thank you.
A dvaniji has been my friend and comrade-in-arms for over fifty years... Mirrored in (this book) is the remarkable journey of a sensitive human being and an outstanding leader whose best, I hope and pray, is yet to come.
— From the Foreword by
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Prime Minister of India (1998-2004)
